Michael Bisping appeared on Tuesday’s episode of UFC Tonight on Fuel to speak with hosts Kenny Florian and Todd Harris. Bisping addressed several key issues, including his injured knee and what he believes is the cause for the recent string of injuries in the UFC.
Bisping was scheduled to face Hector Lombard at UFC 149 in Calgary, but had to pull out of the fight because of a knee injury. When the news originally broke, there was no word on how long “the Count” would be sidelined. Luckily, Bisping cleared the air.
“Listen, I’m gonna have surgery tomorrow…I have to have the surgery. I have two loose bodies floating around my knee and I also have a slightly torn meniscus,” said Bisping. “So while that sounds bad, I don’t have to have a reconstruction or major surgery as such, so tomorrow, I go under the knife, but I think within three to four weeks, I’ll be back full training.”
Many believed that Bisping was pulled from the fight with Lombard as a precaution in case Anderson Silva was unable to keep his scheduled booking against Chael Sonnen at UFC 148. It seems like everyone, including Sonnen, was under the belief that Bisping would be announced as the challenger, as he sent Michael a private message via Twitter.
The thing about direct messages on Twitter is that it’s personal and private, and I think that it would be improper of me to divulge that information. But…when have you known me to do the proper thing? “Alright man, here’s my guess. You’re not hurt and we are rematching. If I am right give me a clue in your next tweet. Include the word ‘lack’ in your next tweet.” And I’m sitting in the doctor’s chair and I’m like “What the hell is this guy talking about?”
Bisping also told Harris and Florian what he believes is the reason for the recent string of injuries in the UFC. For Bisping, it all starts and ends in how the fighters train in the gym. It is Michael’s belief that training must simulate a fight, and therefore, you must train at full speed. If you don’t, you won’t ever get the proper looks when actually in the fight.
There’s a fine line. It’s a very difficult sport. It’s a very physical sport, obviously. For me, my mindset is that you have to train the way you fight. If you hold back in the training room and you only train 75 percent, when it comes to the fight and you fight at 100 percent, you’re not going to be used to that. It’s going to be a shock to the system and you’re going to tire out and you’re gonna gas. So you have to train the way you fight. That said, you also have to train smart. You have to be lucky enough to have a team of people around you that you can trust. You’ve got to have training partners you can trust.
So there you have it. Michael Bisping won’t be fighting Chael Sonnen at UFC 148, and he believes the fighter injuries are because of hard training. Hopefully, missing the Lombard fight won’t drop him in the middleweight picture, as he’s one of the best in the sport.
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